Father of the Bride Speech Etiquette

Here are some tips about father of the bride speech etiquette that will help you prepare for your upcoming wedding. Etiquette is an overlooked topic for most father of the brides and you won’t want to miss these tips.

Often times, father of the bride etiquette is the last thing on the mind of most men.  The attitude is usually “I paid for the wedding so I can pretty much say whatever I damn well please.” Most men spend the majority of their time on the speech structure or outline and not enough time on etiquette.

Here are a few tips to ensure that you do not embarrass yourself with poor father of the bride speech etiquette.

First of all, it is important to keep your speech within the proper time frame. Traditional etiquette means that you should only speak for about five minutes which is about 650 typed words. If you ramble on and get off points you will not only annoy some of the guests in the audience but you will also be taking away time from the other speakers.

Of course you will want a little bit of humor in your speech but you should tread carefully with embarrassing stories about your daughter. Her wedding day is a sensitive time and she wants to look good in front of the groom’s family. You want to make sure that your embarrassing story about her past is not something that she is sensitive about. The best bet is to double check your material with your wife.

Finally, my last tip for father of the bride speech etiquette is to warmly welcome the groom into the family. Even if you absolutely despise the groom and you are severely disappointed that he is marrying her you still must welcome the groom and the family. It is the gentlemanly thing to do. I have been at weddings for the father of the bride has neglected to welcome groom into the family and guests were talking about how the father of the bride is unhappy about his daughter’s choice of spouse.

If you’re looking for more tips about the father of the bride speech and wedding toast etiquette our guidebook has dozens of great tips.